


I got a feeling it's you (and I)

by Mxxndance



Series: Platform Five Fourteen [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Angst, Fluff, Hogwarts AU, M/M, Quidditch, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:35:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26287324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mxxndance/pseuds/Mxxndance
Summary: "Puffskein's hair. Where do I find puffskein hair?"Hyungwon thought he would definitely fail his assignment and remain as a 'hopeless failure' for the rest of his life when Shownu spoke."Hoseok keeps a puffskein as a pet."Minhyuk, who was completely absorbed by his book, popped his head up, suddenly curious. "Are you talking about Hoseok? Lee Hoseok, the quidditch chaser? He's kind of a legend. He's said to have accumulated more than three hundred points. The UK coach wants him in his team."Shownu nodded, nonchalantly. "He sometimes brings it to training," he said, smiling. "It's cute.""Hey, Hyungwon, why don't you go ask him?"Hyungwon considered the idea for a long, paused moment, before deciding that maybe asking a guy he'd never met before to shave his pet for his potion assingment was a bit too much.
Relationships: Chae Hyungwon/Lee Hoseok | Wonho, Im Changkyun | I.M/Yoo Kihyun
Series: Platform Five Fourteen [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1909981
Comments: 7
Kudos: 38





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> 내 손을 꽉 잡아, 도망갈까?  
> 숨겨진 9와 4분의 3엔  
> 함께여야 갈 수 있어
> 
> TXT - Nine and Three Quarters (Runaway)

**KHPOV**

The landscape scrolled over at the other side of the windows, a display of dense woodlands and lochs, huge mountains towering against the gloomy gray curtain cloaking the afternoon sky. The carriage barely rattled as the train sped on along the endless tracks stretching hundreds of miles ahead, winding through the hills, hiding behind the soft crests and finally disappearing on the horizon.

“Did you know that Godric Gryffindor and Bowman Wright lived in the same village?”

Kihyun swung his legs over his seat on their cabin, eyes big and round as his finger traced the lines carved out on the pages. “It says the graveyard is full of names of ancient wizard families. Muggles still think it's haunted.”

The deep silence that followed made him look up towards the opposite seat, where Hyungwon had fallen asleep, his mouth open and his forehead resting against the glass.

“Hyungwon?” He frowned, before rocking his foot a bit too vigorously until - _oops_ \- he accidentally clashed it against his friend's knee. “Hyungwon-ah!”

The boy bolted upright, startled, and looked around disoriented as he blinked away the drowsiness. “Yes,” he nodded. “I'm listening.”

Kihyun sighed and closed the book at his side.“Are you going to sleep through Professor Binns' classes again this year?”

“I told you,” he grumbled as he wiped off the moisture of the corners of his eyes. “I was listening.” 

“And what was I talking about, exactly?”

Hyungwon's face struggled to recall even the tiniest fragment of the book he had been reading. “Something about... witch burnings in medieval times?”

Kihyun puffed. “That was on chapter eleven.”

“And which chapter are we in, now?”

“Twenty three,” he replied.

Hyungwon raised his eyebrows in disbelief, but he looked more horrified than ashamed. “Are you going to memorize the entire book before going to classes?”

“I'm not memorizing it. I'm just flicking through it.” 

“And how many books have you _flicked through_ during this summer?”

“Not many. I mean, maybe all of them at some point. But I didn't go deep into the details.”

Hyungwon was already shaking his head.

“What.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “At least I’m not so ignorant as to think Salazar Slytherin was in love with Helga Hufflepuff.” 

“You don't know that!”

Kihyun tried not to chuckle as his friend's ears turned a bright red.

Truth was, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't a bit excited. People said it was a nightmare of a year, the fifth. They would have to take their O.W.L exams, which would determine what N.E.W.T. courses they would be permitted to take, or what job opportunities they would be able pursue in the future. They would receive counselling from the Heads of their house, who would advise them as to what level classes they should take in order to qualify for their desired profession. And the amount of homework for each class was said to increase to inhuman levels.

But unlike Hyungwon, who would probably spend his classes complaining and whining -and even snoring-, he would try his best to survive without any Troll in his record. 

After a while, they fell into their own small routine. Kihyun resumed his light reading, absorbed in the 17th century uprisings of the Sorcerer Resistance. The migrations. The secret enclaves settled around south America. Hyungwon, on the other hand, gave up on his small nap and just drifted off, his eyes lost outside the window.

At some point, the high voice of the trolley witch echoed across their wagon, followed by the heavy rolling of her cart.

“Anything from the trolley?” she asked, peering her head through the doors of their compartment.

Hyungwon bit his lip before reaching into his pocket and trading a couple of silver coins for a bunch of sweets from the trolley.

Kihyun rejected the offer with a polite smile, but after a fatuous exchange of words, he ended up sharing a box of Jelly slugs with Hyungwon. 

Outside the window, the scenery slowly began to shift. To the occasional dark blotch of a crooked tree, or that hills to the south that resembled a lying bear — a change so subtle yet so enthralling. 

“We're getting closer,” Kihyun muttered, as he wrapped the box in his hands. “Maybe it's time to put on our uniforms.”

Hyungwon agreed as he munched the last bit of his cauldron cake and stood up to grab his luggage.

“Is that new?” Kihyun said, pointing at Hyungwon's robe.

“The previous one was a bit short,” he muttered as a reply.

“Wait. Have you gotten even taller?” At this point, Kihyun wasn't sure whether to feel shocked or offended.

Hyungwon just shrugged. “I guess so.”

Kihyun nodded in disbelief, and took his own tunic from his suitcase.

“Are you nervous?” Hyungwon suddenly asked.

Kihyun turned to face his friend. “About what?”

“About the shiny badge you keep hidden at the bottom of your luggage.”

Kihyun froze and felt the heat flooding his ears.

Hyungwon chuckled. “We made bets last year, but at the end everyone knew you were going to be chosen, so we only had space to bet on who would be your companion.”

“Professor Fitwick send me the insignia at the end of last year.”

Hyungwon smiled, and Kihyun couldn’t tell if there was some proudness in between or if it was just a trick of his imagination.

“You're not mad, right?” He ventured to ask, as he buttoned up his robe up to his chest and sat down once again.

“About not being a prefect?” Kihyun nodded, and that made Hyungwon snort. “We both know I'm not the type to run through the corridors after the first graders, and I always forget the password to the Common Room. You are the perfect candidate, though.”

Kihyun laughed, embarrassed. “Don’t say that.”

“I'm a bit curious, though. I heard Minhyuk say there's a huge bathroom with all kinds of luxuries and even mermaids.”

“The prefect’s bathroom.” He affirmed. Flitwick had told them about it, too. “It’s big, and fancy. But I don't think we'll have too much free time to enjoy it, anyways.”

Hyungwon put his hand in the air. “I told you not to mention the 'o' word. So just- don't.”

"You know you'll have to confront it at some point. It's not like you'll be able to avoid it once the classes begin." 

Hyungwon just puffed and muttered something that sounded like "Watch me try."

Kihyun shook his head, resignedly. Then looked up.

“Look, the castle is there.”

Beyond the dense halo of mist dancing above the dark waters of the Black Lake and the Forbidden Forest, the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry stood up magnificently. With its dozens of towers and turrets, lit up by a thousand windows that shone like tiny fireflies between the mist, it looked more like a ghostly apparition at dusk - mysterious, impressive, and magical. 

Kihyun shifted on his seat with anticipation. At the other side of the cabin, Hyungwon was smiling wide, too.

Soon after, the train slowed down and stopped at the Central Station of Hogsmeade. Hyungwon and Kihyun waited for a few minutes until the mass had cleared from the corridors to get out of their compartment and towards the fresh night air. 

A huge and bearded silhouette was already waiting outside.

“Firs’-years! Firs’-years over here! C’mon, er’body follow me!”

The two boys navigated through the wave of first graders flocking around Hagrid, and followed the crowd of older students towards the empty field where the horseless carriages awaited.

“This always give me the creeps,” Hyungwon muttered as they hopped into the coach, accompanied by a pair of students from their own house.

“I heard that we’re studying the thestrals this year, on Care of Magical Creatures,” mentioned Kihyun.

His friend sneered, disgusted, and looked away as the wheels below them creaked into motion.

“By the way…” Kihyun muttered, playing with the ring between his fingers, “her name is Laurel.”

“What?”

“Laurel Fernandez. The other new prefect in our house.”

“Laurel?” Hyungwon repeated. “The quidditch beater?”

He nodded.

“Yes!” Hyungwon shot a punch in the air before the students’ stunned face. “I was fearing I’d have to carry Minhyuk’s books to his first day,” he grinned. “Now he’s got to do my Herbology homework for a month.”

Kihyun rolled his eyes, incredulous. “Who did he vote for?”

“Pat.”

“Pat!?” he exclaimed, shocked. “She stopped coming to Arithmancy last year cause the numbers told her she’d die in the middle of class. She’s… not the best example of a prefect, exactly.”

Hyungwon just shrugged. “He said you two look cute together.”

Kihyun shook his head. “I wish he’d stopped doing that…”

“It’s not like he doesn’t have a point…”

“Hey, stop it you too!” he yelled, gaining a loud _ouch!_ as he punched him hard in the ribs.

Rattling and swaying, the carriages moved in convoy up the road. They flew over the Great Lake, brushing the crowns of the ancient trees on the Dark Forest, and the tall stone pillars on either side of the gates until they jingled to a halt near the steps leading up to the front doors.

The entrance hall was ablaze with torches, echoing with footsteps as the students crossed the stone floor for the double doors to the right.

Kihyun paused at the entrance to the Great Hall and inhaled deeply.

The four long House tables were filling up under the starless black ceiling, just like the sky they could glimpse through the high windows. Candles floated in midair all along the tables, illuminating the silvery ghosts who were dotted about the Hall and the matching silverware neatly aligned down the tables.

An eager smile tugged at the corner of his lips, his feet nervously waiting for him to take the first step. 

And finally, the words fell off his mouth like a spell. 

“Welcome home, Hyungwon.”

A flicker of fingers. A sharp exhale.

“Welcome home, hyung.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't finish my Halloween in Hogwarts Fic and not write the whole story. Hope you enjoy! :)
> 
> PS; don't forget to stream open mind!


	2. Chapter 2

**KHPOV**

The Great Hall was immersed in a cloud of excitement, students talking eagerly to one another, exchanging summer news and shouting greetings at friends from other Houses as they marched towards the second stand on the right, a large table laying under a pompous procession of waving flags on blue and bronze – the Ravenclaw table.

“Have you seen Shownu hyung?” Hyungwon asked, scanning around the crowd.

Kihyun shook his head. “I suppose he’s already sitting on his table.”

“I wonder what he's been up to. He hasn’t texted much during this summer.”

As they took a seat, a long line of scared-looking first years entered the Hall, preceded by Professor McGonagall. The sorting ceremony was welcomed with the cheers of every student of the House which was named – and the occasional booing between the Slytherin and Gryffindor Houses. But as the students slowly began to fill in the empty spots on their table, Kihyun suddenly felt his palms become sweaty.

He tried his best to look confident, his ribcage inflated and his shoulders wide. The badge on his chest was a sign of power and authority. He recalled the moment he had first shown it to his parents, the words of praise, the proudness on their faces. Hyungwon thought he was meant to be a prefect. Professor Flitwick seemed to have seen something in him, too.

And now Kihyun felt all the pressure fall upon his shoulders.

“You’re going to do great,” Hyungwon said. “Just… don’t overpressure yourself.”

At that moment, Kihyun didn’t know whether he should hate him for that weird ability of his to always read him or feel grateful for his reassuring words. 

“I’ll try to do that,” he muttered.

Just then, a jingle of glass made the whole Hall become silent. The Headmaster stood up from his high-backed golden chair at the center of the staff table, imposing and dramatic.

“To our newcomers,” said Dumbledore, his arms stretched wide and a beaming smile on his lips, “welcome! To our old hands — welcome back!”

Kihyun felt some excitement fluttering on his chest as he forgot about his fears and focused his whole attention on him. The Headmaster's speech was solemn and inspiring. But unlike what those old wife's tales used to say, there was no new danger waiting for them that year. Just the same old faces — Slytherins poking fun at the floating ghosts, Trelawney accidentally throwing her wine glass all over the table, Professor Snape glowering at them from his seat on the corner…

…and Hyungwon’s stomach growling in front of him.

“Sorry,” the boy whispered at Kihyun’s admonishing scowl. “I’m a bit hungry…”

Dumbledore’s discourse came to its end with a bizarre joke about the Horklumps that raised a cloud of nervous laughter and the four words everyone had been looking forward since they had first taken a seat.

“And now, let the feast begin.”

At the signal of the Headmaster, the tables exploded with the long-awaited banquet. There was roast beef, sausages, Yorkshire pudding, kidney pie with peas… Kihyun grabbed a platter with mashed potatoes and dressed them with fried onions and sauce. He also tried the steak and the carrot salad. Hyungwon, on the other hand, leaped on the pork ribs and the shrimps in less than two seconds, but was full after eating a quarter of his plate.

“I swear if I eat another shrimp I will literally explode,” he groaned, stretching over the bench.

“You were starving literally 10 minutes ago...”

“And I was. But now I’m full.”

“I suggest the elves try to make puree with your brain…”

“Uh?”

“Nothing.” Kihyun muttered, clearing his throat. “I almost choked with… pumpkin juice.”

The banquet was satiating and fun, but ended all too soon.

"Now it’s time,” the Headmaster raised again from his seat, shutting every murmur and laugh echoing across the Great Hall. “Classes will start tomorrow at nine. Everybody, sleep well."

The entire hall stood up in unison. Kihyun blinked, as the new faces stared at each other in expectation. Then an elbow stabbed him on his ribs. He got to his feet like a spring and cleared his throat.

"Okay, everyone to the Common Room. First Years follow me!”

“I’ll see you at the dorms,” Hyungwon patted him on his back with an amused grin playing on his lips.

“Wait. Where are you going?”

The boy pointed at the Slytherin table with a jerk of his chin. “I just saw Minhyuk trying to trick some newbies into Gobstones,” he said, shaking his head. “Also, I have a bet to claim.”

Kihyun nodded as his friend parted cheerily to meet the fifth year Slytherin. “Tell him I said hello!” He shouted at his back. Then turned to face the flock of students crowding around him, expectants.

It was a chaos yet kind of thrilling. The new students couldn’t keep still, but followed him obediently. Some of them were already fired up and chatted eagerly with their new house mates, others pulled at their robes and shifted nervously as they stared at his nape with daunted owl-rounded eyes. A blond muggle-born with plaids started screaming at the talking portraits hanging along the stairs, and Kihyun had to stop his entire parade until she was convinced the old portraits weren’t going to get out of the frame and attack her.

“Someday in the future you will remember this day as the best day of your lives,” He claimed, half encouraging, half to keep himself distracted from everything that could go wrong. “The day you first came to Hogwarts _and_ were sorted into the Ravenclaw House.” He couldn’t help spilling some proudness in his voice as he talked.

He still remembered his first day at the School.

Being born in a muggle family, the letter had come as a big surprise. His father had refused to accept it, at first. _Rubbish!_ He’d claimed. How could his golden son quit his studies to learn a bunch of magic tricks? Kihyun himself was a bit flustered. Leaving school? Learning magic? But only a week later, he already knew everything there was to know about Hogwarts. He knew the name of each ghost, he knew which spell he would learn on his first Charms class, and that he wouldn’t be good at flying a broom.

The letters kept coming, and his mom patiently talked some sense into his dad — still, he was puffing and jumping at every hat that brushed past him in a hurry as he nodded his head at his son from Platform 9 and ¾.

Once on the train, he sat quietly on a carriage occupied by a couple of older Hufflepufs. He didn’t know exactly what to do, so he opened a book to keep his nerves at bay, occasionally glancing sideways at the other students.

He was a bit troubled as to which House he would fit in. There was something about Slytherin, House of Merlin, the most powerful wizard of all times… But at the same time, he’d rather be somewhere more peaceful and quieter. Someplace where he could keep digging and discovering the fantastic world of magic.

It had been an interesting talk with the Sorting Hat. He would’ve liked to ask him more about what type of magic granted him that ancient and wise conscience, but as soon as he had confided him his worries, the hat had smirked knowingly —kind of, it was all in his head— and shouted across the Great Hall:

“ _Ravenclaw_!”

Kihyun grinned at the memory. He remembered the cheers, the applause, and how the knot in his chest had eased as he got up the chair and walked towards the blue wave of roaring Ravenclaws. In the end, it’d turned out to be better than being in Slytherin, buried in those creepy humid dungeons.

“Or Hufflepuff,” he remarked, “also below ground level, next to the kitchen. Never seeing the sunlight, your stomach always rumbling because of the smell... The Ravenclaw Tower is one of the three tallest towers in this castle, alongside Gryffindor Tower and the Astronomy Tower…"

“ _Ah… I always get emotional when first years arrive_.”

Kihyun paused and spun around. The voice had sounded alarmingly close, almost a whisper in his ear. But the corridors were empty. No signs of the Gray Lady or any other House ghost floating nearby. The portraits were chatting amiably among them, accustomed to the hustle and bustle of the first day at school.

But still, he was sure something had just talked at his back.

Maybe Peeves?

Kihyun blinked twice before returning his attention to the dozen pair of eyes staring puzzled at him.

“As I was saying,” he resumed, clearing his throat, “the Ravenclaw Tower is one of the tallest towers in the castle, and the airiest one. We also have the most stunning views, a direct shot to the school grounds: the lake, the Forbidden Forest, the Quidditch pitch and the Herbology gardens..."

Short after, they reached the end of the spiral staircase and the entrance to the Ravenclaw Common Room. There was a single door with no doorknob or keyhole, just a seemingly ordinary bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle.

“Fly like a butterfly,” the eagle spoke suddenly, rising a cloud of _oh’s_ and _aw’s_ and a random _I told you!_ on the back.

“Sting like a bee,” Kihyun replied.

And with a snap, the door cracked open, letting them in.

“The riddle changes every time the door needs to open, so you need to have a quick wit, or you might sleep on the stairs more than once.”

“And how will we know the answer?” a dauntless boy with chubby cheeks and round glasses asked.

“The sorting hart put you in Ravenclaw,” he smiled at him, reassuring. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

It was late when Kihyun finally stopped at his door, eyelids heavy and a tinge of satisfaction in his stomach. He had shown the students the common Room, explained the basic rules — timetables are on the end of your beds, don’t forget the curfews, no sneaking into the girls rooms— and delivered every one of them safely into their dorms.

“And try not to be late if you don’t want Professor McGonagall turning you into an alarm clock on your first class.”

He rubbed his face, tired, and pushed the door open.

The curtains were drawn. The room was dimly illuminated by a gas lamp by his partner’s nightstand, sneaky shadows casted over the four walls. Hyungwon was already there, a dark mane floating over a jumble of sheets.

As he entered, laughter died away.

“Hyung, you came early,” the boy said, turning to face him.

What he saw made his heart skip a beat. A monster. A nightmare.

Then he might have or might have not thrown a pillow at him as he screeched. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I KNOW. You might all be thinking what is Kihyun doing in Ravenclaw? Well, my sorting may be a little twisted but it will all clear up in time.   
> Any thoughts? You can leave a comment, it will be much appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

**HWPOV**

"Hyungwon..."

A muffled voice called his name, like the magic words breaking the sweet and alluring curse of dreams. 

“Hyungwon, wake up.”

A stern voice. A hasty voice.

Hyungwon curled lazily on the mattress as he pulled the sheets over his head. “Five more minutes,” he groaned against the pillow, the words trapped in a maze of soft feathers and cotton clouds.

Clear enough for Kihyun to let out an annoyed sigh. “Just one more minute and you’ll be late for Professor Binn’s first class.”

“Then he won’t have to watch me sleep before his nose.”

“Hyungwon-ah!” He yelled at him; all patience gone. “You promised me you were going to pay attention at History of Magic this year. No napping allowed in his class, remember?”

With a swift click of his wrist, he got rid of his sheets and pulled him upright.

“Did I ever say that?” Hyungwon asked, to Kihyun or himself, as he scratched the top of his head, still half asleep.

“Yes!” Kihyun affirmed. “And I’ll be there to pinch you if you ever dare to blink an eye.”

Hyungwon rolled his eyes before leaping out of bed and dragging himself like a zombie across the room. Kihyun followed his movements from a distance, arms crossed over his chest and a grim frown plastered on his face.

“You’re buttoning your shirt the wrong way,” he scolded him, disapprovingly.

Hyungwon looked down at his mess of a uniform, unbuttoned the shirt, then buttoned it right before sliding into his grey jumper.

“You could’ve gone for breakfast on your own,” he said, as he tried to fix his sorry looks —his puffy cheeks and swollen eyes and a crown of wild hair standing on end like a bird nest— staring back at him in the mirror. “I could’ve caught you later.”

“Breakfast?” Kihyun snorted. “Here’s your breakfast.” He slid his fingers into his pocket and shoved two chocolate muffins into his hands. Hyungwon looked at them blankly. “Be grateful I got you this, otherwise Binns would have to suffer your stomach grumbling in addition to your deafening snoring.”

“I don’t think he’d notice,” he muttered. “He tends to doze off even faster than me.”

“Come on!” Losing all his patience, Kihyun grabbed him by the sleeve and hauled him down the stairs.

It turned out they were already running late. Hyungwon shushed the roar in his stomach and shoved down the muffins as they rushed down to the first floor, Kihyun’s puffs and whines echoing across the entire staircase. They swiveled round the corner and raced down the empty corridors, reaching for the wooden doors and pushing into the classroom just as the ghostly teacher floated up the dais.

“Just on time,” Hyungwon panted as they slid stealthily to the only seats left, two empty spaces on the third row. 

History of Magic was by common consent the most boring subject ever devised by Wizard-kind. Cuthbert Binns had a wheezy, droning voice that was almost guaranteed to cause severe drowsiness within ten minutes, but it only took Hyungwon five to feel his eyelids slowly narrowing to a slit.

A sudden jab on his arm made him jump up straight.

“Don’t you dare to nod off!”

At his side, Kihyun was scribbling down his parchment, lines and lines of fresh ink engraved into the rolled surface. Hyungwon yawned and picked up his quill.

“I’m tired.”

“Well, next time you think it twice before spending the night playing games with Minhyuk.”

Hyungwon rolled the quill between his fingers, let it hang above his untouched piece of parchment before finally pressing it down the paper.

_History of Magic: The umpteenth Goblin rebellion._

A subtle smile broke on his face. “You should’ve seen your face.”

After losing Kihyun in a cloud of baby students, Hyungwon had walked between rushing robes and swirling hats towards a shiny blond head

“ _Hyungwon_!” Minhyuk greeted him effusively as he broke through a yellowish cloud of smoke. Hyungwon tried to ignore the fetid odor coming from there. “ _So nice to see your pretty face around here once angain. You look charming, as always. Did you get taller_?”

Hyungwon felt his cheeks burn red and scratched the back of his head as they started walking towards the entrance. “ _Well not so charming,_ ” he muttered. “ _What were you doing with those poor first years_?”

“ _Oh,_ ” he shot a cryptic glance at his back, at the bunch of kids still coughing, suffocated by the shot of putrid liquid bathing their robes, then replied happily, “ _I was playing some gobstones._ ”

“ _I think you mean you were cheating at gobstones._ ”

“ _Of course not!_ ” he exclaimed, offended. 

“ _Then why are you keeping that magic marble in your pocket?_ ”

Suddenly Minhyuk pulled him him aside, out of the asphyxiated students’ reach. “Shhhh” he hushed him, alarmed. “ _Don’t blame it on me. I was just teaching them how to play properly. Play to win. That is the Slytherin way_.”

_“By tricking them?”_

Minhyuk shrugged. _“Life’s hard. Lessons don’t come for free.”_

Hyungwon rolled his eyes, and his words got lost in the ruckus as they made it to the stairs. _“Especially for a bunch of innocent first years…”_

They were supposed to go straight to their dorms. Go to sleep and rest well for the early classes next morning. But Minhyuk was frisky that night, so he’d ushered him to the second floor, to a secret passage leading straight to the entrance to his Common Room, and they snuck inside and to his bedroom before any of the other Ravenclaw students appeared.

_“If Kihyun finds out…”_

Minhyuk sparked a mischievous grin. _“That’s the fun part.”_ Then took a shiny blueish bottle out of his tunic.

 _“What’s that?”_ asked Hyungwon.

_“A scrambling potion.”_

Hyungwon arched a questioning brow.

_“You might not find it in your average Advanced Potion Making book. It makes you’re your eyes and your mouth dance in your face.”_

_“Where did you get that?”_

He leaned confidently at him. _“It’s a secret.”_

Hyungwon stared at him distrustfully, but Minhyuk didn’t quaver, he just sat on the corner of his bed, beaming innocently at him like a child bound to mischief as soon as his mom takes her eyes off him. _“Wanna try?”_

He wasn’t convinced at first. However, Kihyun’s expression as Minhyuk turned to face him —ear protruding on his right cheek and an upside-down smirk on his forehead— had been completely worth it.

Now his friend glared at him, his hand sliding down the paper non-stop. “Not so different from the face _you’ll_ make when you see your final grades.”

Hyungwon sunk down as he returned his attention to his miserable notes, then to Kihyun’s neat calligraphy.

Fuck it. He was already lost.

And so he decided that if worse came to worst, he could at least copy from him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there~  
> I'm sorry if this story starts a bit slow, I promise it gets juicier with time! I'm gonna try updating once a week for the next chapters to come, I hope you stick with me for as long as it lasts! If you like it, don't forget to click kudos and I'd really really really appreciate if you leave any kind of feedback as I'm kind of a newbie around here!


	4. Chapter 4

**HWPOV**

Of course, it wasn't a proper start at Hogwarts if you didn't get potions on the first day. After an agonic and endless lesson about the early magical communities in the Americas – not another Goblin rebellion after all— the two boys walked down the stairs to the basement, mingled in a cloud of blue and green ties.

The dungeons were as creepy and gloomy as he remembered them. Hyungwon fought the urge to turn and flinch at every corner and dashed hastily after Kihyun, almost tumbling when something —he’d rather not know what— scurried between his feet and got lost in the shadowy corridors.

“Don’t worry,” a voice spoke in his ear. And Hyungwon was about to collapse form a heart attack. “Probably just a giant spider.”

“Minhyuk,” Kihyun greeted him with a tender smile, as Hyungwon tried and failed to articulate a deathly threat to his evil friend. “What are you doing here?”

“Got potions, too,” he said, happily, as he stretched his wrinkled schedule and raised it for them to see.

Professor Snape arrived punctual, his black robes fluttering at his back as he entered the classroom and strode among the worktables to the front of the class.

“Can someone explain which are the magical properties of the Moonstone?” He asked, in a plain, apathetic voice, as he reached his desk and turned round to face them.

Hyungwon felt the blood draining out of his face. Around him, the whole class shifted nervously on their seats, glancing sideways at each other.

Minhyuk scratched the back of his head. “Moonstone? It rings a bell, but…”

At his side, Kihyun narrowed his eyes, and whispered to himself. “We weren’t supposed to study Moonstone until the second term.”

“I see your dried brains haven’t become any smarter during this summer,” Snape taunted, mockingly. Suddenly, Kihyun got up and raised a hand. He paused and cocked his head at him. “Yes, Mr. Yoo?”

“Moonstone, also known as the wishing stone, is a gemstone and a useful potion ingredient,” he replied, confidently. “Powdered Moonstone is often used as an ingredient for the Draught of Peace and several Love Potions.”

Professor Snape lifted a reticent but appreciative brow. “At least there seems to be someone who isn’t entirely incompetent attending my class… Ten points to Ravenclaw.”

Hyungwon rolled his eyes as his friend smiled brightly and sat down once again. He wasn’t going to complain. Not this time.

Kihyun was, probably, the only non-Slytherin student capable of scratching a few points from the tightfisted professor. Although he treated him with the same disdain and arrogance as any of the other students, there was some kind of favoring, some inclination, only mudded by the wide and uncrossable gape that separated the two Houses. Maybe it was that hidden ambition, that self-confidence, that made Minhyuk joke about the Sorting Hat sneezing when he had been sorted into Ravenclaw. Maybe it was that he was the only promising student that showed a genuine interest towards his class. Either way, he tolerated him good enough to acknowledge his efforts and even ignore the fact that boy was not a pure blood.

And Hyungwon was fine with that.

"I think it appropriate to remind you,” Snape resumed, turning his back to them and grabbing a white chalk between his fingers, “that next June you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions."

“Oh god…” Hyungwon whined and buried his head in his arms, trying to hide himself from the three huge letters staring menacingly at him from the dark blackboard.

“Moronic though some of this class undoubtedly are, I expect you to scrape an Acceptable in Your O.W.L., or suffer my... displeasure.”

Hyungwon didn’t want to suffer Snape’s displeasure. Nobody in this entire planet would want to suffer Snape’s displeasure. But hear him voice the warning out loud was absolutely terrific.

“An Acceptable seems affordable enough, though…” Minhyuk muttered by his side.

Maybe, Hyungwon thought. He just had to learn the properties of a weird stone they had not even studied yet and finish all his classes without releasing a horde of living beetles or exploding his cauldron.

Snape kept talking, going over the basic skills they needed to acquire to pass their exam; Kihyun writing down short, neat notes in a corner of his parchment. Suddenly, he paused dramatically and looked at them with evil dark eyes.

“In order to prevent you from falling into such disgrace and remaining as a bunch of hopeless incapable dunderheads,” the insults fell from his mouth with such an ease, he didn’t even feel offended. He was sure he kept a secret list with insults under his pillow and memorized it every morning before coming to class. “I’ll introduce you the task that will keep your brains busy for the next few months.” He flicked his wand in a swift motion and a big white screen rolled down before the blackboard. “Here you have a full list with your names divided according to each House. Next to it, you will find the name of a potion or antidote, neither of which can be found in your Potion Opuscule Book.”

Minhyuk frowned; Hyungwon gasped exasperatedly, while Kihyun wrote down every word at the speed of light. 

“Your task for this term is to gather the required resources to brew your assigned beverage and deliver thirty inches of parchment on its properties, including its history, applications, ingredients, magical qualities and secondary effects.” Hyungwon stared at him, gaping. “You have till the 22nd of December.”

There was a deep uncomfortable silence, in which they just blinked blankly, dread flooding their veins.

Two seconds later, Snape spoke again.

“Today, we will learn to prepare an Invigoration Draught. Prepare your cauldrons and focus.”

It was one of the worst potion classes ever. The invigoration draught was not a difficult potion to prepare —it only required a few ingredients, and some simple steps— but it seemed like the world didn’t want Hyungwon to survive his first day at school. The mandrakes shrieked deafeningly as they tried to escape the boiling cauldrons. He mistook lovage with common celery and forgot to stir clockwise. Meanwhile, Kihyun kept muttering directions under his breath, correcting his already irrecoverable potion. 

“Slice it, don’t chop it.”

“That’s not lovage.”

“I don’t think the invigoration draught is supposed to smell like a dead rat…”

As if lured by his incompetence, Snape prowled around his worktable with a disapproving expression on his face.

“Seems only one of you three will be able to remain in my class for the end of your studies.”

Hyungwon peeked at Minhyuk’s boiling cauldron and sunk down on his seat: at least his was not green.

After the last of his morning classes had concluded, the boys crossed the gates to the school grounds in search of an empty spot where he could rest peacefully.

“What potion did you get?” Minhyuk asked, as they crossed the cobbled courtyard to the beautiful world outside.

Hyungwon took a look at his folded piece of parchment.

“Laughing potion,” he read.

“Mine is Wolfsbane potion,” Kihyun replied.

“That doesn’t sound cool,” Minhyuk grimaced indiscreetly.

“What potion did you get?”

“Polyjuice potion.”

Kihyun shook his head, bothered. “We’re not supposed to learn all these potions yet,” he said, frowning. “Does he really hate us that much?”

“Is that a rhetorical question?”

“At least you don’t have every chance at suffering Snape’s ‘ _displeasure’_ ,” Hyungwon scowled. “What do you think he will do when we fail? Torture us? Throw us into the Black Lake? I don’t think he can spell us.”

“I heard he has a potion that turns you into a lemur.”

“Nobody’s gonna fail,” Kihyun replied. “We just have to find the recipe to these potions.”

“And not die trying to brew them,” he added.

“You’re such grouches,” Minhyuk complained, shaking his head. Then threw his arms over each of his necks. “Come on! The classes have just started. Let’s not think about those just yet. It’s such a beautiful day. We can do something nice together.”

“And what do you suggest?”

Minhyuk smirked naughtily, and Hyungwon rolled his eyes, knowing what his friend had in mind even before the words fell from his mouth.

“Anyone wants a game of gobstones?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been thinking, if I were to take the OWLs, how would I react? Would I be confident I will succeed like Kihyun? Would I panic because of my eminent failure like Hyungwon? Or take it easy like Minhyuk?  
> Leave me a comment, I want to hear your thoughts!


	5. Chapter 5

**JHPOV**

Jooheon liked Herbology. He liked to learn the names of every plant and herb and how they could be used to brew a Bloodroot potion, or cure boils. He also liked Charms, and Transfiguration. Defense against the Dark Arts was kind of okay, if not a bit stressful — all those curses, and devil creatures…

But he really, really, _really_ couldn't stand Care of Magical Creatures. 

He shuddered violently as he walked across the school grounds, legs trembling after a frenzied race against a vicious Murtlap that was determined to feed on him. He was lucky his shoes were still whole — that poor Gryffindor girl couldn’t say the same about hers.

It was his fault, after all, for listening to Minhyuk when he told him Magical Creatures was the best option.

“ _Arithmancy and Ancient Runes are a pain in the butt_ ,” he’d said. “ _Trelawney has the same chances at getting a true premonition as winning the lottery — Last year she told Ross she should keep an eye on his older brother. Turns out, she doesn’t have any. So yeah, these two are definitely your best options. Also, Hagrid is kind of fun._ ”

Then he had marked a big cross alongside each subject and handed back the sheet to him.

“ _Muggle studies_?” he’d asked, taking a look at his choice.

“ _Trust me. You’re not going to regret it._ ”

Of course, he should have known better than to trust Minhyuk’s judgement about subjects. Specially considering his favorite subject was Divination. Now, it was too late to repent.

He sighed and crossed the archway to the west wing. It had only been a few days since the term had started and students were scampered all around the grounds, playing exploding snap and wizard skittles on the courtyard, or just enjoying the late-summer sunlight before the cruel autumn fell upon the school.

The library was empty. Jooheon walked past the librarian’s vacant desk and strode towards the intricate forest of bookshelves, not exactly sure what he was looking for or why exactly he had come here in the first place. He paced down the aisles, ignoring the Legal and the Reference section before stopping before a sign marked as _Psalms of the Middle Century_ and grabbing a random book from one of the shelves.

A message was scribbled in italic on the back of the cover. 

_A warning: If you rip, tear, shred, bend, fold, deface, disfigure, smear, smudge, throw, drop, or in any other manner damage, mistreat, or show lack of respect towards this book, the consequences will be as awful as it is within my power to make them._

The library books had spells casted on them to prevent students from defacing or stealing them. Jooheon knew that. However, Madam Pince had been known to place spells of her own on them as additional protection, and Jooheon would rather not find out what the consequences mentioned in this particular book were, so he closed the book quickly and put it back in its original place. 

After ten minutes of aimless wandering through the corridors, he ended up in the Healing Herbs Section. He was inspecting a very descriptive essay about the terrible effects of bubotuber pus when he heard a muffled murmur approaching him.

“I really don’t get it." The voice was complaining. "Why do we have to come to the library on a Friday afternoon?” 

“To find any clue that can help us tackle the Potions assignment," a second voice answered. And it had that tone, like it was the hundredth time he had given him the same reply.

“But it’s only been a week since classes started. We have plenty of time until the deadline.”

“That’s what you said last year for that dream journal project Trelawney asked us to write, and you ended up making the whole thing up the day before.”

Jooheon tiptoed to the end of the bookcase and stuck his head curiously over the edge.

A boy was leaning against a wooden chair, his hands closed coolly around its back and his face a tormented expression. He was about the same age as him, maybe a year older, and he had a doll face, with big dark eyes, pouty lips, and soft wine-colored hair.

“I still got an A,” he retorted, smugly.

At his side, another boy, with cunning eyes and ashy hair curling over his eyebrows, moved between the racks with the familiar ease of someone who had spent too much time around there. He frowned and closed the volume he was examining before placing it on top of a growing pile of books already scattered on the desk. 

“That’s cause you told her you’d _‘seen death staring right at you’_ every night for an entire week.” 

The taller boy shrugged, but before he could retort or make any kind of excuse, his companion spoke again.

“So you’d better start your Potions assignment too, if you don’t want to fail your O.W.L.s and remain a ‘ _hopeless incapable dunderhead_ _’_.”

The boy rolled his eyes and stood up, tired of his friend’s scolding.

Jooheon pulled back to his hidden spot, panicked.

His elbow collided against something hard. He turned on his heels and watched, horrified, as the book flopped on the edge of the table before plunging down. He lurched forwards and grasped it, miraculously closing his fingers over the cover. He sighed, relieved, and stood up, the book still hanging messily from his grasp like a freshly caught fish.

Shockingly, the book pulled away from his grip and, floating up before his nose, it began to yell. 

"What do you think you're doing?!" 

That was it. He was screwed. 

"Did nobody teach you how to treat a book?"

Without warning, the book sprung at him and hit him hard on the stomach. 

“What the…!?”

Not content with that, it charged back at him, and kept hitting him, on the shoulders, on his head, on his chest. And Jooheon did his best to bear that gratuitous attack stoically, but he couldn’t help the loud yelps escaping his mouth at each hit. 

A pair of faces peeked alarmingly into the hall.

“Is something wrong?”

The book stopped its enraged beating all at once. Regaining its lost composure, it turned to face the strangers —Jooheon could swear he was glaring at them full of contempt— then closed and dropped itself to the floor with a thud.

“Are you okay?” The two boys approached to check on him.

Jooheon bent down and picked up the book. “Yes.”

“What happened?”

He brushed off his robes and looked away, trying to conceal the redness burning on his cheeks from their concerned eyes. Then he described, without going into much detail, his unfortunate incident with the book.

“You have to be more careful,” the shorter boy said, picking the book from his hands and putting it back inside the empty gap on the shelf. “These things can get pretty nasty if you don’t treat them properly.”

Jooheon nodded silently. Now he knew it firsthand.

“By the way, I’m Kihyun,” he introduced himself, then pointed a finger to his friend next to him. “And this is Hyungwon.”

“Chae Hyungwon,” the boy waved a hand at him, amiably.

“I’m Jooheon,” he replied. “Lee Jooheon.”

“I don’t think we’ve seen you in any of our classes. Are you in fifth grade?”

Jooheon shook his head. “I’m a fourth-year.”

The shorter boy —Kihyun—smiled at him. Then he frowned and his face contorted into something like recognition.

“Wait. Are you, by any chance… Minhyuk’s friend?” he asked him.

Jooheon flinched, startled at the sound of his friend’s name.

“Minhyuk? Do you know Minhyuk?”

“He’s a friend of us, too.”

“More like a pain in the butt…” Hyungwon muttered under his breath.

He then glanced intrigued at his looks: blue ties and blue hoods, matching, not a silver, but a bronzed emblem pinned on the left side of their chests. 

Of course, he thought, only a Ravenclaw could be rummaging through the depths of the library at this time. 

And then there was him, trying to run away from the nightmare of that Murtlap.

“What were you doing here?” Kihyun asked him, ignoring his friend’s remark. “Are you searching something in particular? If you have trouble finding any book, I can help you. I know my way around here pretty well.”

“He’s kind of a living directory of the library,” Hyungwon whispered confidentially at him.

Kihyun turned to his friend, to glare at him or punch him, he didn’t know, but paused at the sound of someone clearing her throat.

“Ehem.”

The three of them flinched and turn in unison towards the source of that sound.

Madam Pince was standing in the main corridor, a couple of books under her arm and cold clear eyes glaring at them behind her round glasses. She didn’t seem happy. If Jooheon had to choose a word to describe her, he would’ve said she seemed enraged.

“Looks like someone's been making a fuss in the library.”

Jooheon felt his stomach sink.

Oh, crap. He was truly screwed. 


	6. Chapter 6

“I hate Snape,” Hyungwon stated, as he plopped himself heavily down the ground and stretched his legs widely before him. “I really do.”

It was one of those warm days in late summer. The sky was clear, and the whomping willow stood magnificently, almost inviting to rest by its shadow. Hyungwon took down his bag and dropped it on the grass next to him.

“Are you still mulling over the assignment?” Minhyuk asked, distractedly. He was lying face down on the hillside, his ankles swaying lazily and his eyes locked on the pages of the new comic he was reading.

Shownu’s tall and muscled figure was resting against a tree trunk beside him. Holidays had done him good. He was tanned, his skin peeking through the collar of his shirt and his rolled-up sleeves a beautiful olive tone.

“Believe me, I’ve tried,” he fumed. “But it’s impossible to ignore it when you have Kihyun muttering ingredients in his sleep.”

It had only been three days since their last visit to the library. _Three days_. But it seemed to be the maximum Kihyun could bear, cause when they got out of DADA on Monday, he had grabbed him by the sleeve and said, “ _Come with me. We’re going to the library.”_

Hyungwon had paused abruptly before the entrance to the Great Hall. “ _But what about lunch?_ ”

“ _Lunch can wait_.”

He was about to slope off, faking an unbearable stomach ache, but Kihyun had that look on his face, the one that said he wasn't in the mood to pretend he believed him. So he just sighed and followed him to the library.

He was the one doing all the job, anyway.

When he’d asked why he was in such a rush to make that assignment, he had answered ardently.

“ _Have you seriously thought about the options? What if the potion takes two months to brew? What if it requires this one ingredient you can only harvest on a full moon? What if your first three attempts explode catastrophically? It’s Snape we’re talking about here_.”

He’d rolled his eyes silently. He just hoped that last scenario wasn’t referring to him.

“What assignment?” Shownu inquired at that moment.

Hyungwon reached into his bag and pulled out a mistreated long-lived book. It had taken them an entire week —and another four visits to the library, including a desperate one to the restricted section— to finally find it, hidden in a secluded corner between a bunch of ancient monographs.

_Potion Opuscule,_ read the golden letters on the cover _, by Arsenius Jigger_.

“Seems Snape’s set to make this year a living hell for all of us,” he explained bitterly. And then proceeded to summarize, briefly but dramatically, what terrible torture he had designed for all of them. 

“Looks like he was in good spirits,” he teased.

Hyungwon whined as he turned his attention back to the book and scanned the list of ingredients for the tenth time since Kihyun had handed it to him. 

The Laughing Potion didn’t seem to be that great of a deal — except for a very crucial detail.

“Puffskein hair.”

That was, maybe, the tricky part in the assignment. Kihyun said there was no possible way to find a puffskein anywhere near the school, and when he’d suggested his parents could send him one via mail, he’d glared at him and asked if he should warn the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

Buying it at Dervish and Banges wasn’t an option, neither. Hyungwon payed enough attention at Care for Magical Creatures to know puffskein hair started to lose its magical powers from the moment it was cut, and was completely useless after five minutes.

So that left him with the impossible question.

“Where am I supposed to find a puffskein?”

Hyungwon thought he would definitely fail his assignment and remain as a hopeless and uncapable dunderhead for the rest of his life when Shownu spoke the magic words.

“Hoseok keeps a puffskein as a pet.”

Minhyuk, completely absorbed by his book, popped his head up, suddenly curious. “Did someone say Hoseok?” he asked. “Lee Hoseok, the quidditch beater?”

Shownu nodded silently.

“Do you… know him?” Hyungwon asked, confused.

The boy jolted up and sat up straight. “You’re kidding me, right? The question is, who doesn’t!? He's kind of a legend. He's said to have accumulated more than a hundred clearances during last season. The UK coach wants him in his team. Not to mention how stupidly handsome he is.”

Hyungwon nodded vigorously, trying to hide the fact that he had absolutely no clue what he was talking about.

“And… he has a puffskein?” he asked, and he hated the tinge of hope seeping through his words.

“He sometimes brings it to training,” Shownu said, smiling. “It's cute.”

“Do you think he would let me take some of its hair?”

Minhyuk blinked, perplexed. “Do you want to shear the most popular student’s pet?”

Hyungwon considered the idea for a long, paused moment, before deciding that maybe asking a guy he'd never met before to shave his pet for his Potion assignment was a bit too much.

“Maybe not.” He closed the book and tossed it angrily on top of his bag. “I’m just… I'm just going nuts.”

“I thought you had it all under control.”

“And I do. I just need to get an ingredient that’s impossible to find. And then boil the potion without causing a major explosion. What could go wrong?”

“I don’t think the last part should be a problem. By the way, where’s Kihyun?”

“He still hasn’t found out how to prepare his potion. He spends all his free time researching in the library. I’m afraid by this time he’ll start to grow pages and turn into an encyclopaedia himself.”

He was even considering to skip divination to go searching that morning.

_“It's not like we're learning something useful anyway_ ,” he'd said. 

“I heard wolfsbane potion is almost impossible to brew,” Min breathed to himself. “But considering his history, he shouldn't have much trouble.”

“Has he tried looking in Snape’s office?” Shownu suggested. “He keeps the most advanced books in his bookshelf. He might find something useful. Though he needs to get in there first.”

Hyungwon glared at him, stunned. “What is your secret?”

Shownu blinked, confused.

“You still have potions, right?”

He nodded. “I need it if I want to become a Draconologist.”

“How are you so good at it? How are you even able to survive it?”

Shownu scratched the back of his neck, flustered. “Studying… I guess?”

“But there has to be something!” he pulled his hair out in despair. 

“Luckily, you won’t get more than Poor or an Acceptable in your O.W.L.s,” Minhyuk said, “so you don’t need to worry about bearing with Snape in the future.”

It took a few moments for him to register what his friend had just said. “Wait. What do you mean by that?”

Minhyuk laughed loudly and lurched forwards, dodging a flying shoe Hyungwon had thrown grudgingly at him. Nunu watched them quarrel and wrestle from a distance, a fatherly smile stretched on his rosy lips.

And it was a nice and lighthearted afternoon, happiness flooding the air with a choir of laughs and the occasional cry of an offended Hyungwon.

爱

“Morning.”

Next day, Hyugnwon went down to the Great Hall to find Kihyun already sitting at the Ravenclaw table, his head buried on a book and his breakfast laying untouched before him. 

“Morning,” he replied, barely lifting his gaze from the book.

“What’s that?” Hyungwon asked, as he sat next to him and snatched his already cold eggs.

“This?” Kihyun lifted the book for him to see.

_Advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts, by Galatea Merrythought._

Hyungwon frowned. “I thought we didn’t have DADA until noon.”

“Yeah, I know. I was doing some research on the vampire bats last night. I was tired of leafing through useless books in the library and I thought… Maybe this isn’t the right approach. Look at this.”

He passed the book to him. It was opened on a chapter they’d studied a while ago, the one about werewolves. A bunch of tiny notes were squeezed in tiny pieces of parchment. And there, highlighted in the lower corner, two words: wolfsbane potion.

“But it doesn’t show the instructions,” he objected.

“Of course not, but it’s a start. What about you? Did you make any progress?”

Hyungwon stirred the scrambled eggs, disheartened. “I might have found a Puffskein,” he confessed. And then told him about Mr Legend boy and his super cute pet.

“You have to get hold of that puffskein.” Kihyun declared. “It’s your only option.”

“I know that. But what do you want me to do? It’s not like I can go ask him if I can use his pet por my potion.”

“Why not?”

“He might think I’m a psycho.” 

“Well, good luck with your potion, then.”

He sank on his seat. Two mouthfuls later, he paused and “Do you think Shownu could get me into the Gryffindor dorms?” 

“Why?”

“To steal the Puffskein.”

Kihyun glared at him.

“Okay. I get it. Not a good idea. You don’t need to call the authorities. I’ll think about something else.”

Kihyun shook his head and stood up. “Just think about it, okay? I’ll see you in Study of Ancient Runes.”

“Wait. Where are you going?”

“I need to see Lupin before class.”

He squeezed his shoulder and walked out of the Great Hall.

Hyungwon watched him part, before taking the rest of his breakfast and start eating.


End file.
